goddamn my realtor is gonna hate life in the morning.

these two good faith estimates I'm looking at are just... just... just...

offensive

4/25/2006 8:35:24 PM

explain...
Mine wasn't that bad, although I will say you need to research buying a house for a long time and get several offers for a mortgage. And DO NOT get a mortgage unless you understand it completely. If you can't put 20% down then try to do an 80/20 or 80/10/10 to stay out of PMI. Do not do interest only or you will shoot yourself.

I did a 30 year fixed FHA and 3% down, now I'm looking into options to get out of my PMI. I didn't know when I got my mortgage that I couldn't get them to drop the PMI until I had 22% equity based on the original purchase price, not the current value. My house has gone up 12% in 2 years so I'm looking into refinancing, but the rates are a little higher now so I'm stuck and don't know what to do. With that said I will at least research this crap for several months before I make a decision.

4/25/2006 8:56:18 PM

I'm putting 20%, if not more down.

Basically I'm getting zinged on the origination fee for 1% of the total of the loan, then getting two administrative fees (processing and BoA's fees) then getting an appraisal fee which is complete bullshit because no appraiser is going to actually go to the house.. they are going to base their appraisal off the other 300+ houses in the neighborhood. (in fact, a quick way to make them ixnay the appraisal fee by half or more is demand a copy of the appraisal, and that you be present at the property when its being appraised, they shut up real quick)

Also, the fucking title insurance FOR THE LENDER is NOT something that is typically paid by the buyer. I'm all well and good for paying the title insurance to protect myself, but those fuckers need to pay their own goddamned insurance.

Basically all these fees are simply BS. In the case of the origination fee, its a dinosaur that's hardly ever used anymore. The only reason I'm complaining about all this is because we're being shoe-horned into a particular lender because the builder will pay a "percentage" of the closing costs.


Note that I wouldn't be bitching about the fees if the quoted interest rate was something to brag about. Its not.

I have a feeling once Pops gets involved (VP of a Home builder/developer who has thousands of home sales under his belt) its gonna get ugly. But I'm all about being ugly with the lender if it saves me cash in the long run.

(this is for a house near atlanta btw, not here in NC)

[Edited on April 25, 2006 at 9:57 PM. Reason : .]

4/25/2006 9:55:25 PM

I don't understand this jargon, so I'm glad my girlfriend's dad built a house for when we get married. The first bank of father-in-law is a lot simpler: "Pay me every month, or I'll beat you."

4/25/2006 10:35:49 PM

sounds like you've got it straight, just be prepared to walk...it is after all only a house and only a place to live.

Do you have an account with the credit union? Their origination fee and closing costs are much cheaper. And if you're putting 20% down you're golden.

[Edited on April 25, 2006 at 10:58 PM. Reason : .]

4/25/2006 10:54:34 PM

Quote :

"Basically I'm getting zinged on the origination fee for 1% of the total of the loan, then getting two administrative fees (processing and BoA's fees) then getting an appraisal fee which is complete bullshit because no appraiser is going to actually go to the house.. they are going to base their appraisal off the other 300+ houses in the neighborhood. (in fact, a quick way to make them ixnay the appraisal fee by half or more is demand a copy of the appraisal, and that you be present at the property when its being appraised, they shut up real quick)"

Happened to me as well. I just sucked it up. I had the rate locked and didn't check with a credit union until later when I had more time (waiting on new construction so there wasn't a rush). Anyhow the interest rate went up almost half a point so it balanced out either way. Pay money up front or over time. I actually forgot about the app fee because it was so long ago until closing came around. That kind of annoyed me.

I got a copy of the appraisal at closing BTW.

In some ways I feel bad about it, but all the parties involved were working with each other (which sounds like your case). Instead I got some extra upgrades to the house.

I would see how much you will save on the closing costs though. If it roughly the same as the 1% I would go elsewhere. They sold my loan off by closing so those fees went straight into their pockets.

4/26/2006 5:54:57 AM

im saving up to build a house right now

4/26/2006 8:20:52 AM

Buying our first home wasn't *too* terrible, but a lot of things just fell into place.

Since I'm relocating 5 hours away, I can't just "visit the area". I searched realtor.com and other online home sites first, and found about 5 I thought I liked. I just happened to call one of the nicest and most patient realtors in the world to meet with and she turned out to be a gem. I ended up not buying any of the 5 I saw online, and at that point was slightly frustrated.

However, we went to her office & used her software search program and found 3 others in the area that were beautiful and in our budget, so we checked those out. Ended up buying 1 of those and love it. The actual LOAN was a bit of a pain...banks just don't trust you. I had to borrow from my folks to manage the 20% down as the PMI was just insane. It's better to knock out the PMI and then just pay back your folks if possible while paying off a lower mortgage.

Looking back, it's really exciting buying a house...or a new car, anything new is fun. Just make sure to not get in over your head or rush into one that you're paying a high PMI with...you don't wanna throw money away.

4/26/2006 9:04:31 AM

I WISH I WAS A RICH BITCH

4/26/2006 11:24:29 AM

I should add that 90% of my "20% down payment" for my home came from 529 savings.

I got a scholarship so basically all of my schooling was paid for...but I worked hard as hell to get the schollie. I'd probably be gritting my teeth paying PMI if I hadn't had the scholarship.

4/26/2006 12:24:57 PM

Quote :

"I did a 30 year fixed FHA and 3% down, now I'm looking into options to get out of my PMI. I didn't know when I got my mortgage that I couldn't get them to drop the PMI until I had 22% equity based on the original purchase price, not the current value."

This is why FHA loans SUCK. PMI is pointless since the debt is already secured against the house.

You could have done an 80/15/5 and still avoided PMI.

4/26/2006 1:06:43 PM

Quote :

"The only reason I'm complaining about all this is because we're being shoe-horned into a particular lender because the builder will pay a "percentage" of the closing costs."

I can almost guarntee you that the percentage of the closing cost the builder will pay will not come close to the money you could have saved going through your own lender. This is not always the case, but most of my coworkers regret going through the builders preferred lender for this any many other reasons (customer service, mild conflict of interest, etc.). Bankrate.com is a good place to start when selecting a lender and determining if a rat is competitive.

4/26/2006 1:42:15 PM

just to clarify, I haven't picked a particular lender, and have gotten a PM from a user on here referring me to a lender that seems to have a much better deal going.

Thanks for all the advice so far.

4/26/2006 2:15:32 PM

I got my mortgage through Coastal Federal Credit Union. They were competitive with other lenders and worked their asses off to meet a very aggressive closing. Plus I already have an established banking relationship with them, so I feel comfortable working with them.

I am paying PMI, but they told me that they would drop it when the house appraises for 20% above what I owe. I went with this over an 80/15/5 because I feel that I can hit 20% relatively quickly and then it will be cheaper from that point on. The house appraised well above what I paid, I put 5% down, and I'm hoping that some upgrades that I'm doing + a year's appreciation will put me over the 20% requirement.

I hope they don't pull any b.s. and require me actually pay off 20% of the loan, but I should have gotten it in writing. You live and learn I guess.

4/27/2006 1:07:37 PM

I have a loan through Washington Mutual. 5.65% and I put 10% down. No origination fee. Closing costs were around $2000. My realtor was great and I really have no complaints. Sucks that you're having problems. Kinda ruins the whole new house excitement thing.

4/27/2006 5:30:54 PM

hooray working for a bank

it's all free!

oh and this guy isn't having problems, he's just being a little bitch because he didn't do any homework before starting the process

lenders aren't going to give you an inch, they may SEEM to give in to your whining, but you'll get stuck with the cost somewhere on the deal, they'll just move it until you shut up and think you won, they aren't into doing mortgages for free

[Edited on May 2, 2006 at 9:27 PM. Reason : sdfsf]

5/2/2006 9:23:16 PM

I (think) mine is going pretty well.
need to talk to a friend again to make sure though.

[Edited on May 2, 2006 at 10:49 PM. Reason : w00t for great credit]

5/2/2006 10:49:27 PM

Quote :

"Also, the fucking title insurance FOR THE LENDER is NOT something that is typically paid by the buyer. "

wow. i somehow missed that. Maugan really doesn't know how this process works at all. if you want i can hook you up with title insurance for $1/thousand instead of the standard industry rate of $2/thousand

once "pops gets involved" he's going to tell you to calm down because you're being unreasonable because i'm pretty sure he does know how this all works - you should've talked to him beforehand

oh, and if you don't like the lender, just boot them and get somebody you trust, they're still going to charge you all the same things, but at least you'll feel better about it

[Edited on May 2, 2006 at 11:13 PM. Reason : dsfgfdg]

5/2/2006 11:13:01 PM

Maugan--

1% is pretty standard, although you can find "no closing cost loans", although the interest rate is ususally higher. You can however negotiate the fee a good bit.

I work for a local bank, and we do require a complete appraisal of the proerty, where the person does actually go to the proerty and appraise it, not a desktop appraisal, which is what you are describing.

Also, in my experiences, title insurance is always paid by the buyer. Protects you against any title defects down the line, should anyone have actual claim to the property and the attorney missed it.

Hey, but if you can find a lender that will do a loan with no appraisal, no fee, and not charge title insurance, more power to you. If it was me, I would want a complete appraisal, home inspection, and survey for the biggest investment of my life. Like I said, I am in the industry, so feel free to ask me any questions you may have.

5/3/2006 6:55:23 PM

Quote :

"The first bank of father-in-law is a lot simpler: "Pay me every month, or I'll beat you.""

nice

5/11/2006 3:45:21 AM